Iron Man 3: Being the Hero (Again)
by hailfire97
Summary: Contains some spoilers to IM3! 'You're right, we do need backup.' 'Yeah, a bunch.' Tony and Rhodey are surrounded at the docks by Extremis soldiers. Massively outnumbered, they need backup in order to save Pepper and President Ellis...
1. In need of backup

**Chapter I: In need of backup**

'Three guys, one girl, all armed.'  
Tony hid behind the crate with Rhodey. Cautiously, the duo slowly looked up above their cover, the Colonel holding his pistol. The small army of Extremis soldiers observed the two men coldly, some flexing their muscles, others raising their firearms. Each of their eyes burnt orange; a side effect of the Extremis in their bodies.  
'I'd _kill_ for some armour right now,' Rhodey muttered, looking around.  
Tony nodded, also surveying his environment. 'You're right, we _do_ need backup...'  
'Yeah, a bunch.' He replied, holding his gun up.  
Stark looked across the docks, towards the harbour and the surrounding darkness.  
'You know what?' He said, nodding towards the horizon, and raising an eyebrow slightly. Rhodey followed his gaze.

A little speck of light shone amongst the stars, moving towards them. Behind it, another light appeared.  
'Is that-'  
'Yeah.'  
'Are those-'  
'Yeah.'  
More lights appeared in the sky, zooming towards the dock. One by one, tens of armours came into view.  
The Mk.17 Heartbreaker was first to appear, slowing down and hovering by the dock. Then, the Mk.39 Starboost and Mk.40 Shotgun arrived, hovering next to the heavy artillery armour. Following them were the Mk.33 Silver Centurion and Mk.35 Red Snapper, which flanked its cohorts. As each suit got to the docks, they formed a massive circle around the dockyard, surrounding the soldiers.  
'Merry Christmas, buddy,' Tony smirked, while his friend watched with awe upon his mass of creations.  
The Extremis soldiers glared at the newly arrived adversaries, their bodies glowing fiery orange as Extremis flowed through their bodies.  
'JARVIS, target Extremis heat signatures, disable with _extreme _prejudice,' Tony instructed his AI butler.  
'_Yes, sir._' JARVIS' voice echoed across from each of the suits.  
The Mk.37 Hammerhead tilted it's helmet a little, locking an Extremis target in its crosshairs.  
'What are you waiting for: its Christmas,' Tony asked, stepping forward. He threw his arms out and made the sign of the cross. 'Take them to Church!' He called.


	2. A better solution

**Chapter II: A better solution**

'_Actually, Sir, I believe I have a better solution to the current situation._'  
Tony looked across at Rhodey, and raised his eyebrows.  
'Er, ok... What are you thinking?'  
The Extremis soldiers looked at each other in question, and some of them shrugged.  
'_Sir, do you recall your encounter with Colonel Rhodes with Ivan Vanko at the Expo?_'  
Stark blinked. 'Yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?'  
'_If my memory core functions correctly, you and the Colonel defeated the Russian physicist by _being the hero_._'  
Tony's eyes widened. He glanced over to Rhodey, who grinned at him. Their adversaries were none the wiser to this plan, not understanding the hidden message.  
'That's a great idea, JARVIS, but what about the President, and Pepper?'  
'_I shall dispatch a number of units to rescue Miss Potts and President Ellis,_' the AI told him. '_In the meantime, Sir, I recommend that you and Colonel Rhodes get clear of the area._'  
Tony nodded, and ran over to the edge of the platform he was stood on, and jumped onto the ladder, and slid down. Rhodey quickly unloaded his magazine of bullets into a number of soldiers, before following his billionaire friend down the ladder.

Immediately, the soldiers healed, and opened fire upon the fleeing men and the aerial suits. The armours retaliated, firing their repulsors at the soldiers to occupy them, while a few of the suits went on the rescue mission.  
The Silver Centurion soared towards the President, trapped inside the Iron Patriot armour, drawing the two blades concealed within the forearms.  
'Wait, what are you doing?' Ellis asked, his face lit with worry.  
The Mk.33 sliced at the two cables suspending him above the oil tanker, breaking them. The President fell towards the oil drums, crying out in terror, until Red Snapper caught him with its pincers.  
'_Good evening, Mr President,_' JARVIS greeted him. '_Can I give you a lift?_'  
Ellis looked up at the armour. 'Very funny, but thank you.'


	3. Return of the prodigal son

**Chapter III: Return of the prodigal son**

JARVIS dropped the President down by the waterside, just as Tony and Rhodey ran towards their awaiting boat, graciously lent to them by the Mandarin, aka: Trevor.  
Rhodey hid behind a metal crate, and saluted the country's leader, while Tony waved at him.  
'You look damn good, Sir,' Rhodey smiled.' But I'm gonna need that suit back.'  
Stark frowned at the Colonel. 'Hey! What about me?' He asked angrily.  
'_Not an issue, Sir: Mk.42 inbound._' JARVIS informed him.  
Tony looked towards the sky again, and saw his latest, albeit rather battered suit fly towards him. 'Well I'll be damned: the prodigal son returns...' Tony murmured.  
The prehensile armour triggered its airbrakes, slowing down to latch onto him. The billionaire raised his arms to call it to him; until it hit the roof of their boat, and broke into pieces.  
'Whatever,' Tony sighed.

Rhodey laughed as he stepped into the Patriot armour, while Ellis leant against a metal container for support.  
'Nice.' Rhodey snickered. 'Real sleek, Tony.'  
Tony made a false laugh, while the mechanisms closed around the Colonel.  
'Oh yeah?' Tony asked. 'Watch this.'  
He snapped his fingers, and the pieces of the Mk.42 reassembled, then the gauntlets, boots and other segments flew onto him. Before Rhodey could say anything, Tony, wearing a smug look on his face, said, 'top that, Rhodey.'  
The faceplate slid down, and the eyes lit up, before Tony shot up to join his 'hobbies'. As the Iron Patriot closed up, Rhodey shook his head, and faced the President.  
'Show-off,' he muttered. 'Sir, if you get into the boat and sail out a bit, you should be safe there; we'll be with you shortly.'  
Ellis nodded, and held a thumbs-up wearily, before climbing into the boat. Rhodey closed the helmet and flew up to help the other armours.


	4. I call Shotgun

**Chapter IV: I call Shotgun**

Killian watched angrily as the Stark's suits fired upon his creations.  
'It would seem that dear Tony had another trick up his sleeve, after all,' he growled. His fists glowed as he clenched them, before walking back into the control room.

Tony fired repulsors at the soldiers, who were madly trying to shoot down the armours, unable to engage them at close-quarters.  
'JARVIS! Where are we? Have you found Pepper yet?'  
The holographic HUD flicked through a number of processes, until it focused on Pepper's reading.  
'_I have located Miss Potts, Sir._'  
'It's about time.'  
'_She is in the captivity of Aldrich Killian as we speak, and I have dispatched the Mk.40 and Mk.38 to rescue her, Sir._'  
'Good call, I'll lend a hand,' Tony smiled, and shot off towards Pepper's location.

Pepper watched as Killian walked across the room. She struggled against her restraints, while Killian opened a large container on a table.  
Aldrich lifted out an advanced-looking missile launcher and held it up for Pepper to see.  
'Like it?' He asked her. 'We developed it using Extremis-filled rounds, designed for maximum damage.' He grinned evilly. 'Should do the trick against Tony's toys-'  
His monologue was cut short as a blur of metal smashed him into the wall. The Mk.40 Shotgun pinned him against the building, using its back and feet-mounted repulsors to hold Killian in place. Extremis flowed through his body, repairing the broken bones. Aldrich grinned at the grey armour.  
'Not bad, Tony,' he growled. 'That almost hurt.'  
He kicked the armour away from him, and then grabbed it, throwing it like a toy through the wall, which had been weakened by the intense heat of Extremis. Aldrich stepped through the hole onto an open platform, where the Shotgun was climbing to its feet.  
The armour opened fire with its repulsors, which Killian swiftly ducked and dived to avoid. As Mk.40 aimed its hand again, Aldrich twisted its palm around, making it shoot itself in the helmet. Shotgun stumbled backwards, but used its back thrusters to steady itself.  
Using its feet and hand repulsors to add extra thrust, the Mk.40 kicked and punched Aldrich, some of which he blocked or dodged, some of which he did not. Countering a series of punches, Killian heated his arm into a burning hot blade, and swung down onto the armour. However, JARVIS triggered the boosters and shot away, narrowly avoiding being sliced apart.


	5. Reunited

**Chapter V: Reunited**

Aldrich watched as the armour flew away, and laughed to himself.  
'Well, what do you know? Even computers are wusses.' He then heard the noise of heavy, metal footsteps heading his way. Looking towards a metal container, the loud footsteps got closer, until the Mk.38 tore through the container like cardboard.  
IGOR jumped onto the platform, and kicked Killian, sending him flying through the hole in the control room, and out through the other wall.  
The massive armour walked through the hole, but stopped halfway through the room, and faced Pepper, who still struggled against her restraints.  
'_I shall be with you shortly, Miss Potts,_' JARVIS told her, before pursuing Killian.  
'No need.'  
Tony flew into the room in the Mk.42, and landed in front of Pepper.

Lifting up the faceplate, Tony smiled at Pepper.  
'See what happens when I hang out with my old girlfriends,' he grinned.  
Pepper groaned. 'You're such a jerk...'  
Tony smiled again. 'Yeah, we'll talk about it over dinner.'  
He reached out and tore the restraints off. As Pepper pulled herself free, Tony stepped out of the suit. They hugged, and then Tony spoke.  
'JARVIS, get Pepper out of here: I've got some unfinished business.'  
The Mk.42 closed up, and stepped forward.  
'_Yes Sir. Anything else?_'  
'Yeah, get me a suit.'  
Mk.42 nodded, and grabbed hold of Pepper.  
'You'll be fine,' Tony told her. 'Stay with the President, Rhodey and I will come back for you.'  
Pepper squeezed his hand reassuringly, before the suit flew off towards the boat.

Tony stepped out to where Aldrich had been thrown, where the Silver Centurion flew up to meet him, and he jumped in.  
'Nice timing,' Tony said, as the HUD activated. 'Alright: let's do this.'


	6. A knight in shiny armour

**Chapter VI: A knight in shiny armour**

Tony flew towards IGOR's location, where it was engaging Killian.  
'JARVIS, disengage: he's mine.'  
'_Yes, sir._'  
Aldrich faced Mk.38, while the other armours continued the assault on the soldiers. IGOR sent Killian flying across the platform with a punch, before jumping off.  
Killian rubbed his head as the Extremis healed him, again. He got to his feet as the Mk.33 landed opposite him.  
'Another suit, then?' Aldrich asked, clenching his fists. 'Tell me, Tony: are you in there, this time, or are you too scared to face me?'  
'Not likely,' Tony replied. 'This ends here, Killian.'  
'Well, here we are, on the roof,' Aldrich smiled. 'How ironic.'  
Tony drew the two blades, and ran at Aldrich, who charged at him, too. They exchanged punches and kicks, and Stark was occasionally able to slice at his limbs, cutting them off. However: his arms kept growing back, thanks to the Extremis in his system.  
Killian sliced through pieces of the armour, occasionally cutting Tony underneath. The HUD readout of the suit was reading multiple damaged functions, so Stark went on the offensive.  
After countering a number of strikes from Killian, Tony pushed his fist through Aldrich's chest, stabbing him through his heart.  
Aldrich gasped, and clutched at his chest.

Inside the suit, Tony breathed a sigh of relief. That was until Killian started laughing.  
He snapped the blade off the gauntlet, and with a powerful upper cut, sent Tony back a few steps. Aldrich pulled the blade out of his chest, and threw it to the side.  
Tony rubbed the helmet, and grunted, 'ow! That hurt...'  
Killian stepped forward, and heated his re-grown arm into another blade. Just as he was about to strike, Tony, out of instinct, triggered the repulsor on his right foot, and sent it, in a powerful kick, straight between Aldrich's legs.  
He squealed in pain and fell over, clutching at his injured groin.  
Tony smirked inside the suit. 'Yeah, you take a minute. Grow those back.'

'_Sir,_' JARVIS said. '_The Mk.33 has sustained too much damage to its systems to be able to support you in flight: shall I send another suit?_'  
'Ok, is Pepper safe yet?'  
'Affirmative, Tony,' Rhodey came through on the comms link. 'I've just seen the Mk.42 join the other suits.'  
'Thanks buddy,' Tony said, and stepped out of the suit, which slowly flew away towards the other armours. 'JARVIS, send the Mk.42.'  
'_Yes, Sir._'  
Tony watched as the red-and-gold armour flew towards him. He ran towards the edge, and jumped off, landing inside the awaiting suit, and shot off into the sky.


	7. Being the hero

**Chapter VII: Being the hero**

'JARVIS, clear all suits from the area. Time to be the hero.'  
'_Yes Sir._' JARVIS said.  
Tony joined the ring of armours, which were firing on the Extremis soldiers. He could see that some of the suits had taken some damage: the Mk.39 Starboost, for example, had numerous bullet holes on it, exposing the circuitry and plating underneath. The Mk.17 Heartbreaker looked as though it had been hit with a grenade launcher, and had taken a chunk out of its chest unit. The worse for wear appeared to be the Mk.25 Striker, which had been shot through the eyes by a sniper rifle, by the looks of it: Tony was glad he hadn't been wearing it at the time.

'Ok, everyone, get ready for this!' Tony called out.  
'_Sir, my readings indicate the loss of the Mk.14, Mk.22, Mk.28, Mk.32. and Mk. 36. We now have a total of 31 armours available._'  
'That'll have to do,' Tony said. 'Rhodey, you ready?'  
'Yep, ready when you are, Tony.'  
He nodded. 'JARVIS, divert all power towards repulsor and unibeam systems, and charge 'em up!'  
All of the remaining suits raised their arms, and the lights on their palms and chests began to glow brighter.  
'Oh, we might want to look away from this,' Tony added. 'Prepare to fire in 3... 2... 1... NOW!'

The Extremis soldiers looked at the suits angrily, still firing at them. Killian got to his feet, still nursing his injury, just as the suits fired.  
Bolts of energy shot towards each other, and collided simultaneously. A massive ball of energy was created, illuminating the entire area in bright light. The energy exploded outwards, a massive wave of destruction that tore the dock apart. The shockwave sent even the suits flying backwards, until they steadied themselves.


	8. Aftermath

**Chapter VIII: Aftermath**

Tony looked at the remains of the dockyard. The steel girders of the cranes had been melted by the intense heat, which had collapsed.  
'_Sir, I'm not reading any further traces of Extremis._'  
'Nice work- Rhodey: let's get back to the boat, check on Pepper and the President.'  
'Copy that,' Rhodey replied.  
Tony and Rhodey flew back towards the boat, and landed by the stern, stepping out of their armour. Tony rushed over to Pepper, and hugged her, while the Mk.42 lifted off and joined the remaining armours back at the wreckage.  
Rhodey stood next to Ellis, who watched the ruined docks.  
'My God...' the President began. 'The 'big bucks' are gonna _kill_ me.'  
Rhodey paused, before adding. 'No, Sir. We've just nullified the risk of a Presidential assassination and a threat to control the United States, and her interests.'  
Ellis turned to face him. 'Thank you, Colonel Rhodes.'  
He clapped him on the shoulder, and sat down.

Tony held Pepper gently in his arms.  
'Am I gonna be alright?' Pepper asked him.  
Tony leant back, and looked at her. 'No. You're in a relationship with me. Everything will never be alright.' His face broke into a slight smile. 'I nearly had the solution to this when I was drunk, twenty years ago: I think I can figure this out; make you better.'  
Pepper smiled.  
'That's what I do: I fix stuff.'  
'And... Your distractions?'  
Tony paused. 'I'll tone them down a little.'  
He tapped his ear, and the earpiece inside it. 'JARVIS?'  
'_All cleared up here, Sir. Will there be anything else?_'  
'Uh, yeah. You know what to do.'  
'_The _Clean Slate Protocol_, Sir?_'  
'Screw it. Yes. It's Christmas.' Tony said.

Tony, Pepper, Rhodey and Ellis watched, as, one by one, each of the suits exploded in midair, creating fireworks in the night sky.  
They watched until each one had vanished in a cloud of sparks, before setting off for a less devastated part of Florida.


End file.
